HL Deb 20 February 1852 vol 119 cc826-7
The EARL of MINTO

said, that in consequence of a letter which had appeared in one of the newspapers, he wished to say a few words in order to remove a misapprehension which had gone abroad of what he had Stated a few nights ago. He was supposed to have complained that the Master of the Megœra, instead of having taken his course down the mid-channel, had put into Plymouth for his own purposes, and had thus led to the inconvenience and discomfort of the troops on board. That was an erroneous notion. He had complained of the conduct of that officer, and had said that he had gone to sea in extremely had weather, to which he ought not to have exposed the troops—that it was his duty to have taken shelter either under Dungeness or in St. Helen's Bay, and more especially as, if he had stood in need of help, Portsmouth would, in both cases, have been near at hand. It never could have occurred to his mind that the ship would be exposed to less inconvenience by going down the mid-channel. He had stated that he knew that there was a predetermination existing in the mind of the Master to go into Plymouth for certain objects of his own, and that for that purpose he had forced his ship against a heavy head westerly wind, to the great inconvenience of the troops. He thought that it was the duty of the Master to have sought shelter at one of the places which he had just mentioned. He did not complain of this misstatement, nor of the gallant Admiral who had written a letter upon it. He wrote on the faith of the report, and the faith of the report might be as much his (the Earl of Minto's) fault as that of the gentleman who had reported it.

LORD REDESDALE

observed, that it appeared to him that there was one point with regard to the Megœra which had not yet been explained. It had been said that the Master of the Megœra had put into Plymouth because, having a contract to supply the ship with provisions, he could purchase them there cheaper than elsewhere. Now, if a supply of provisions at Plymouth was necessary, the Megœra must have started from the Downs with a supply insufficient for the voyage. Else, why were provisions to be taken in at Plymouth?

The EARL of MINTO

was understood to say, that the provisioning of the ships was undertaken by the Admiralty.